


Suis-Moi, Mon Amour

by WyattnWaffles



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: After 3 years of not writing fanfiction, F/M, HERE I AM, I'm Miraculous Trash, Identity Reveal, Miraculous Ladybug - Freeform, This show brought me back in
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-17
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-05-02 04:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5233274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WyattnWaffles/pseuds/WyattnWaffles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He'd follow her wherever she wanted him to go. A story two years after the current timeline and Adrien is just now putting the pieces together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What If

**Author's Note:**

> "I would have known her anywhere and I would have followed her anywhere. She came wordlessly and I followed." -Eavan Boland.
> 
> I had a burst of inspiration from seeing fanart on tumblr. The akuma of this fanfic is based on the Mime picture that was teased at some point. Here's the link to it: http://shishitsunari.tumblr.com/post/133048735109/okay-i-guess-i-found-the-mime-ops-ooops
> 
> I know the episode for the Mime hasn't aired yet or anything but this is my head canon for his backstory.  
> My first time writing after 3 years of leaving fanfiction! I hope you guys enjoy! :)

He felt her presence everywhere he went. 

He heard her laughter from the coffee shops they frequented. He saw her smile the moment he woke up every morning. He heard her singing every Saturday afternoon when he came home from the market.

Her very presence, while no longer tangibly there, was something that both enchanted and haunted him to his very core. He gave up his passion in turn for his second job, working as a janitorial worker at the local high school.

“Monsieur! There’s vomit covering the girl’s restroom!”

The familiar screech of the blonde major’s daughter filled his ears and he felt a grimace cross his face. His grip tightened around his broom as he turned towards her.

“What are you staring at, just go clean it.” She scolded him. 

His face, molded into stone, giving her a hard glare.

“Chloé, you don’t have to be so rude.” Marinette glared. Chloé turned on her heel and placed a hand on her hip, looking Marinette over.

“And you don’t have to be an eyesore to the rest of the hallway.” Marinette rolled her eyes, not dignifying her with a verbal response.

“Monsieur Duchamp, please don’t mind her-“ Marinette turned to where he once stood but only found his fleeting figure going in the direction of the janitorial closet. 

“I can’t believe her sometimes.” Alya came up from behind Marinette, her arms crossed glaring at where Chloé once was. She shook her head in disappointment. A ping rang from her back pocket and she grabbed her phone to answer her text.

“I just don’t understand why she has to be so rude sometimes.”

“Sometimes? I think you mean all the time.” Alya smirked.

“I wonder if she’ll ever change.” Marinette gave her friend a side smile. She agreed entirely with her statement and couldn’t find a single shred of decency to say otherwise. “Let’s get to class, Alya. I’m here early for once and I’d like to be able to sit down with time to spare.” She grinned.

The girls made their way down the hall to their classroom. It was one of the rare times that Marinette had actually been able take a deep breath in the morning for not having to rush. While she liked the deep breath, she didn’t feel in place. Two years had passed since she had begun her adventures with Chat Noir as Ladybug. As a freshman, she often found herself struggling to balance her life as an average teenage girl and as one of Paris’ super heroes. But over the two years she had learned how to maintain that balance. The only stagnant thing was that on nights where akumas would appear, she wouldn’t get as much sleep as she would have preferred, thus leading to her infamous dashes to school that lead to her barely making it by the bell. They entered the classroom and found a few students gathered already at their seats. 

“Bonjour, Alya and Marinette. I’m surprised you’re here to early Marinette.” Nico grinned, teasing his friend. 

Marinette smiled in return. “Bonjour to you too, Nico.” She turned to the blond haired boy directly by his side. “Bonjour, Adrien.” She said, before walking up the steps to take her seat next to Alya. Along with the two years under their belt, they had long since changed classrooms. The desks connected and reached from one side of the room to the other with chairs attached to the fixtures, like a college lecture hall. They took their seats behind the two boys.

Her bag fell between her legs and she felt the tiniest of squirms from the inside of her jacket pocket. After two years of increasingly more work and more thing to bring to school, Marinette had fashioned a personalized little inner pocket for Tikki to nestle in during the day, on the chance that an akuma would make an appearance. She also brought an emergency bag of cookies with her everywhere she went. 

“Hey, Adrien?” Marinette’s voice reached Adrien and he felt himself jump for a second. He turned around with a smile. “Did you get my email with the presentation?”

“I did! What we’ve done looks pretty good! I’m glad you pushed for working on it early so we could take the project in stride.” Adrien complimented her. While an akuma hadn’t attacked in a week or so, she took the opportunity to get as much work as she could get done as possible. Especially with a group project. She’d hate to be called away to save Paris and leave Adrien hanging. 

Adrien, unknowingly to her, was grateful as well. With all the jobs and the modeling that his father had him working on, getting school work done early was always a plus for him. That and he didn’t have to worry about having long nights after patrol to do homework.

Adrien opened his mouth to ask the girl behind him how her weekend was, but was interrupted by another person’s presence. 

“Bonjour, Marinette.” Nathanael grinned as he sat in his seat next her. “Thank you again for help from last night. I did a lot of improvements on my drawing.” He blushed, as he placed his sketchbook on the table and his bag beside his leg. He felt her leg graze her and thought his heart skipped a beat. He wondered if she felt the contact.

She didn’t.

“No problem, Nathanael.” Her smile was enough to warm his heart. “I love your drawings. I wish I could be half as good as you when it came to art. If I could I’d have your art all over my walls.” She sighed. She was jealous of his work but in the best of ways. Nathanael truly knew how to make things come to life. Nino, who had tuned in to their conversation, was also gracefully aware of the steady tapping of a pencil coming from his best friend. Adrien knew how to hold a poker face but today he couldn’t craft something to cover his annoyance. 

“You give me too much credit.” Nathanael blushed. “What you do- everything about you is beautiful.” If he didn’t explode at that moment, he didn’t know what else he could take. Adrien had notably gotten up from his chair and made a temporary exit, more than likely to the bathroom. Nathanael felt himself get tongue-tied. “What-erm. What I mean to say is that everything you do is beautiful. Not that you aren’t beautiful, because you are, but I mean that your work is also beautiful. I’d never be able to become one of France’s best designers.” Alya rolled her eyes at the smitten boy. He felt his heart pounding against his ribcage and wondered if she could hear how nervous he was.

Of course, she did not.

Adrien walked back into the classroom, looking a bit more composed than before, earning an eyebrow raise from both Nino an Alya. The teacher walked in shortly after, she placed her papers on the podium and began to fiddle with the computer.

“I’d draw anything for you, Marinette.”

Adrien glanced back slightly to see the blush that crept on his friend’s face. He turned back around immediately, earning another look from Nino and a muffled chuckle from the kwami in his breast pocket. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Marinette had long accepted that her feelings for Adrien would never be returned.

With the ever-steady support from her best friend, Alya pushed Marinette into conversations with the boy she was smitten with. Eventually, stuttered hellos because casual greeting and nervous giggles. And it eventually evolved into shy conversations between classes. The next level of the friendship turned into private get together at the local café near school. It was under the guise of her helping Adrien with his Chinese, but eventually she realized he had full understanding of the language, and it transformed into friendly conversations about personal things. 

A year into their friendship, the stutters were, for the most part, gone. All that was left was a girl who spoke to her crush almost daily, who had spurts of enthusiasm and spurts of shyness that overcame her. Adrien thought each time he saw a new side of her was fascinating. She remembered a particular moment when reality came crashing down on her. It was November of their sophomore year.

“Marinette, can I ask you for advice?”

“Of course.” She smiled, her heart skipping a beat whenever he made eye contact with her. Adrien seemed to always have an understanding with things, so the fact that he was troubled with something made her both concerned and curious. She took a bite from her macaroon. 

“How do you get a girl to take you seriously?”

Marinette felt her grasp on her coffee cup almost slip. She managed to compose before it was entirely noticeable. “Like, romantically?”

“Yeah, because I really like this girl, I have for a while but I feel like she doesn’t take me seriously. I’m always joking and flirting with her and it’s always been in good fun but I kind of want her to see me an option and I’m not entirely sure what to do.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I get really nervous around her sometimes and I feel… unlucky when it comes to certain moments and..,”

It took Marinette a moment to come back to the conversation; she was too distracted by the sound of her heart breaking. What brought her back was the widest grin she had ever seen the boy have.

“I just… I don’t want to mess things up or not try for it. I don’t like ‘what ifs. Sorry, I’ve been rambling about this girl you don’t even know.” He chuckled nervously while scratching the back of his neck. “What should I do?”

The macaroons she had been eating weren’t settling well in her stomach. 

“Prove it to her. Make the big gesture. Something that’s a sure fire sign that you want her to see you.” It was the only response she could muster without crying. Alya would be so proud of her for holding everything in at this moment. “But then again, I’m not really good with this kind of stuff.” She gave a fake laugh. “It took me a year to even talk to the boy I like.”

Adrien’s eyes widened with curiosity.

“You like someone who?” His grin was reminiscent of something she had seen many times before, but she wasn’t quite sure where from. 

In that moment, Marinette was about to blush even more than she had already, but was going put it down as if it were no big deal. Without trying, Marinette had been full on and brutally rejected in the kindest and most innocent of ways. To Adrien, the boy she couldn’t stop thinking of, she was only his friend. A friend close enough to confide these thoughts with. But then a tiny voice spoke to her in the back of her mind. And it whispered, ‘what if.’

Ah, what if. This was the moment she thought about constantly but could never truly bring herself to face. She always maintained distance to save herself the trouble. It was better than being rejected since she could have hope. But now she needed to open the door. She knew fully what would be on the other side, but it still needed to be done.

“What did you say?” Marinette feigned concern.

“Who do you like? I promise I won’t tell! But you don’t have to tell me! Iw as just curious but I totally get if-“

“You.”

Adrien dropped his scone on the ground as he felt time rush around. The once shy girl that sat behind him in class was giving him the smallest of smiles. He felt himself flood with guilt.

“I like you, Adrien Agreste.”

Before Adrien could form the proper string of words that she deserved she began to stand up. She placed the money for her meal on the table as she checked her bag to make sure she had everything. She couldn’t stay there any longer and she didn’t want to cry in front of him. It would only make him feel all the more worse and if he felt bad than she’d feel absolutely atrocious.

“Marinette, I’m so sorry. Had I known I wouldn’t have-“

“Adrien, don’t worry. After all this time I finally know my answer. This won’t change anything I probably just need a few days… time, you know?”

He felt like the air had been kicked out of him as he looked at Marinette as she prepared to leave. She paused, as if unsure whether or not to add one last thing.

“Thank you so much, Adrien. For everything.”

She bolted from the café and he didn’t hear from her for the next week or so. After her confession, she had felt the need to lock herself in her room. She refused to leave for a few days and opted on eating pizza that Alya brought over and throwing herself into her designs. She was lucky she had the excuse to remain in her room the entirety of the weekend. She thought about leaving to do patrols with Chat Noir, but she couldn’t bring herself to be Ladybug for those two days. Ladybug was strong, confident, beautiful, and worth the time.

She felt like none of those things.

On the last day of her solitude in her room, Alya came in and sat down beside her on the bed. Marinette was laying flat on her bed. She had stopped crying a day in and had accepted what had happened.

“You know, Marinette…” Alya has said softly. “At least you can move on? There are plenty of other boys out there. If Adrien isn’t the one, then he isn’t the one. Chat Noir has talked to you a lot this year, maybe he’s the one, or Nathanael is one.” Marinette sat up to look at Alya. It was the first time she had seen the heartbroken girl smile. “You have all the time and all of Paris, Mari.”

Marinette, for the first time, was able to take a deep breath and realize that this too shall pass. She had other things to worry about and more things to do in her life than worry about the boy she liked.

“You’re right, Alya.” She smiled.


	2. Love Square

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug reminisces while Chat Noir faces facts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, a bit shorter than the first chapter but I wanted to get this part out before heading to bed. Enjoy!

“My Lady, are you okay?” Chat Noir sat next to her on the roof they had chosen to stop on. She had been swinging her feet idly with a far off look at the Parisian sky. Two years together and he felt as if he knew everything about her and nothing at all.

“Mmmm, I’m good. I was just thinking about something that happened a year or so ago.” She said softly, not wanting to break the gentle air around them.

“Well, My Lady, if I had known you were thinking about me with that dreamy look of yours I wouldn’t have interrupted you.” He purred with one of his wide grins. Ladybug looked to her side and smiled, not giving him her usual eye roll.

“We still have so much left to do, Chat Noir. Hawkmoth is still at large even after two years of fighting him. And it makes me realize how big our world actually is.”

He didn’t respond, and chose to sit in agreeable silence. She hadn’t been the only one to think of such things. He often thought of how while the day had him modeling and going to school, there were much bigger things to deal with in the world than finding the time to do a stupid project. It relieved him to know his trusted partner thought the same things.

“A year ago I had my heart broken. Rejected. Well… not directly but it happened.”

Chat Noir was taken aback. He wasn’t usually audience to her personal life.  
“Who could have said no the Lady of my dreams?”

“I’m really good friends with this boy from school. I used to stutter and fumble over all my words with him till I gathered the courage to talk to him.” Chat Noir chuckled at the thought of his Lady being nervous over some boy. She was the Miraculous Ladybug; beautiful, confident, brave and everything he wanted to be deep down. She gave him a quizzical look at his response.

“Forgive me, my Lady, it just seems odd to imagine you at loss for words because of a boy. You’ve always been quick on your feet. Both physically and verbally.” He smiled.

“I’m far different without the mask. But once I we were friends for a solid amount of time and I was comfortable, you know, not saying anything about my feelings but just being his friend because-“

“You didn’t want to give up hope. Bringing it up may end with rejection.”

“Mhm. Needless to day I didn’t bring it up, but he brought up someone he really liked. Asking for advice.”

“Ah, that must have been pretty awkward for you.”

“That’s a good word for it.” She stated. “And then he goes on about this girl and he doesn’t say it but he’s in love with her. I had never seen him smile so much. It was adorable.” She smiled nostalgically.

“And then what happened?”

Marinette sighed, she had longed moved on but the whenever she talked about it she still felt the smallest of twinges in her chest.

“He starts asking me how he can get her take him seriously because he wants to tell her and not have any ‘what ifs’ following him through life.” Marinette was about to move on, but she noticed the slightly wide-eyed look on Chat Noir’s face.

“It couldn’t be,” He thought to himself.

“You okay?” She asked, interrupting her own story.

“Oh, I’m fine. I’m just a little confused about the ‘what if’.” He saved himself with his quick thinking.

“It’s the kind of thing where you’d rather know the outcome so you can move on instead of just never knowing. As scary as it was, I agreed with him. What ifs aren’t the best and I’m glad I told him immediately after how I felt because I don’t need the ‘what if’. I know.” She smiled and shrugged.

“And I just kind of, said it. I like you, Adrien Agres- oh shit! Sorry, I wasn’t really paying attention.” She gave a nervous laugh. One all too familiar to Chat Noir. One he heard for quite some time form girl behind him.

Marinette.

“Okay, so you get one thing to who I am.” Ladybug pouted. “But that’s all I’m saying! I think I’ve done pretty well all things considering.”

Marinette is Ladybug.

“But I think about it now and how far we’ve come. I’d be lying if I said seeing him didn’t make my stomach flutter sometimes but it’s nothing. Absolutely nothing. I’m glad I got my answer though. Not having a crush is a little weird though, it feels a little boring.”

Chat Noir snapped out of it and tried to cover for himself.

“Boring?” He played a mischievous smirk on his face. “Then I haven’t been doing my job properly, My Lady.” He kissed her hand and lingered a little longer than normal. It was too dark to notice but she did feel a little bit of heat rise in her cheeks from the close proximity the two were in. 

Marinette didn’t want to say it out loud and she definitely didn’t want to admit it, but the alley cat had begun finding his way into her peripheral long ago. A little while she was still infatuated with Adrien. Beneath the cocky remarks she knew her partner had a heart of gold that couldn’t be matched. With a smile that could make anyone swoon and puns that both delighted her and disgusted her in the best of ways, she couldn’t help but like the way he flirted with her.

“You better look out, Chat. I’m pretty sure you have competition.” Ladybug winked before moving her hand to stand up. She paused, looking out again on the Parisian skyline. “You want to know what I want most, Chat?”

“What, My Lady?”

“Adrien never liked me that way because he had a girl he liked. That and we got to know each other but maybe not enough to really know each other. How was he supposed to like someone like me? And the boy in my class, well, I don’t think he really likes likes me, you know? He doesn’t even know me either. I just wish someone would like me… for me. Without the mask. Without the ideal that I’m supposed to be this muse of inspiration. Just me.”

“Ladybug…”

Marinette.

“You are so much more than all those things. If being your partner for the last two years has taught me anything, it’s that Ladybug is you. She’s confident and brave and everything in between. But she’s also human. She’s afraid, and shy, and sometimes unsure of herself. And that’s okay.” He noticed a tear falling but chose not to point it out.

“If you don’t mind, Chat, I’ll probably be heading out early tonight. I’m not feeling to well…” Ladybug turned away and before Chat Noir could stop her, she jumped away in the direction of the bakery.

The bakery Marinette’s parents own.

Chat Noir made his way back to his room, Plagg let go of the transformation just as he made it safely into the room. Plagg, while not overexhausted, still had the energy to mock his partner at least a little bit.

“You two are idiots.”

“Plagg, not now, this is kind of a big deal. My Lady- Ladybug is Marinette and I feel so… confused.” He sighed.

“Let me run this down for you. That girl pined over you for a whole year and you indirectly turned her down for Ladybug, but she’s Ladybug. And she was constantly turning you down as Chat Noir, because she was in love with Adrien, which is also you.”

“It sounds so stupid when you say it like that.”

“That’s because it is stupid.” Plagg said before eating into the cheese that was left in the room from earlier in the day. “It’s a love square with only two people.”

Adrien felt himself fall into his bed. He closed his eyes and tried to gather his thoughts about what had happened. He wanted to punch the guy who had hurt her. But he had hurt her. He was the jerk that didn’t see what was right in front of him the entire time. It made sense:

The hair.

The eyes.

The smile.

The rolling of the eyes sometimes that she gave Alya but he could clearly see the resemblance now as Ladybug’s eyerolls for him.

God, how did he not recognize the voice?

His heart was pounding and he didn’t sleep that night. He instead had thoughts about the girl he was in love with, and for once didn’t feel so bad for liking the both of them, considering they were one in the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Look out for our favorite janitor next chapter :)


	3. Renee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He fell in love silently. He knew across the sea of people that his fate was tied to hers.

Marinette woke up feeling a lot better than she had the night before. She had to remember to somehow make it up to Chat Noir. Her outburst last night was probably pretty unusual for him to see and she didn’t really want to make any repeat incidents out of it.

She’d bring macaroons. They were easy to bring for patrol.

She was happy to look at the clock and realize it was Saturday, the sun was warm and spread light through the room. She had a few errands to run around Paris, but nothing that would take too long.

“Marinette? Are you awake yet?” Her mother called from the bakery.

“Yes, mom! Getting up now.” She replied groggily. She eventually got herself out of bed, opting to wear a pair of dark denim jeans, warm boots, and a red coat. It took her half an hour but she finally made her way down with a small satchel in hand, and Tikki in her inner breast pocket (which she had sewn into almost, if not, all of her outerwear).

“Bonjour, mama, papa.” She said cheerfully. She gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and did the same for her father on the other side of the bakery.

“Is it a lot today?” Marinette asked as she placed her warm gloves on.

“Just one delivery today, actually.” Tom, her father, smiled and he placed a box of orange and chocolate flavored pastries in the box. Marinette smiled at the nostalgic smelled. “Tell Henri Duchamp that I put some extras in there. He’s been buying from us for so many years he’s always welcome in our store.” Tom gave mighty grin. Her father was proud of what the bakery had become and Marinette was proud of her parents for working so hard.

“I’ll be back later. Bye!” Marinette waved off to her parents and began walking to wear she knew the school janitor lived. She had frequented the place a number of times over the years. Upon arriving at the door, she stood for a few moments and knocked twice, only to hear a muffled answered. After a moment or two, the door finally opened.

“Bonjour, Monsieur Duchamp!” Marinette greeted him happily.

The man gave her a small smile. 

“Bonjour, Marinette. Are these the ones I ordered?” 

“Yes, and my dad put in some extras for being such a loyal customer over the years.” She added enthusiastically. “My parents love you, Monsieur Duchamp.”

“Why don’t you come in for a moment, Marinette. I actually just found something that made me think of you and Renee.”

Marinette smiled at the mere mention of the name and followed him inside, being sure to lock the door behind her. The home smelled just as it always had, of citrus and some form of sweet. It varied from vanilla to chocolate. 

He led her to the main room where a large box laid on the table. 

“Before Renee passed, I remember she told me how she always wanted you to have this dress. It was the first dress you made with her and she always said she made it with you in mind…” Henri Duchamp lifted the box lid revealing a stunning black and white gown. It was simplistic but elegant. Marinette felt her breath taken away all over again.

“I remember this dress, monsieur…” She walked over the gown and gently touched the fabric, every thread holding a memory. It felt like the first time she did a hem stitch. It felt like the frustrations of working with the tulle underneath the dress. It felt like the moments she truly missed Renee.

“I couldn’t possibly. You should keep it.” Marinette insisted. 

“Nonsense. What am I going to do with it? I guessed you’d be old enough to wear it now and now here you are. It’s what she would have wanted. She’d be so proud to see how much you’ve grown. Her breath would be taken away by some of your designs.” Henri said softly.

Marinette almost felt speechless.

“I miss her. A lot.”

“I gave away all my wine and alcohol after what happened. Except for one bottle but it was our wedding day wine. The others, though, my neighbors were pretty happy for a moment.” He sighed, remembering how the smell made him feel nauseous after what had happened to Renee. 

“She didn’t deserve what happened. The accident. I remember sometimes I’d come over with Alya and we’d hear her singing Sinatra from the kitchen. She’d try having us dance to the songs. Alya was so mad since I kept stepping all over her feet.” Marinette gave a chuckle.

“We met at a festival, you know.”

“I didn’t! How did you and her meet?” She replied excitedly.

“I was preforming my act at a traveling festival that came into town one year. She was part of the traveling group and made all the costumes and she was also a dancer. Marinette, when you meet the one your fated to be with, love with find a way. There’s a legend that says we’re all connected by tiny red strings. They knot and jumble with other red strings but eventually you find the one your connected to.” He took a sip of his water from the table.

“Music started to play and I swear everything froze but her and I could barely take my eyes off of her.”

“Did you go up and talk to her?”

“You forget, Marinette. I’m a professional Mime.” He grinned. “I began to dance alone with “a partner” to the music and the one thing that got it to look so realistic was that I thought of her dancing with me. I spun my invisible partner out and my hand was extended outward. I thought my heart stopped the moment I felt a real hand fall into mine.”

“She started dancing with you.” She smiled.

“She started a whole new world for me, Marinette. She was my love, world, my muse, everything. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to fall in love with. The only thing I could selfishly ask is to have her again just for a bit longer. If I had a day with her, just one last day, I could go through my life as vividly as she went through hers.” He paused, smiling sadly at the dress.

“The world was black and white before I met her.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Henri Duchamp, upon a sense of obligation to his late wife, had taken up becoming the school’s dance teacher while also being part of the janitorial staff. The dance class wasn’t much since she left, but he still felt the urge to keep as much as he could alive. 

“Salut, Monsieur Duchamp.” Marinette walked into the almost empty dance classroom. She was carrying a medium sized box from her parent’s bakery. The smell of vanilla filled the room. “My parents wanted to know if you’d like to sample some of their new stuff.”

“I’d be honored.” He gave a small smile. He sat at his desk making notes and plans for the next few classes. They were in the middle of learning ballroom and some students weren’t having an easy time. “This is delicious!” He said, a few crumbs falling from his face. “Please tell your parents these are far beyond perfect.”

With a smile, Marinette leaned against one of the walls, taking in the large room. Mirrors lined the wall parallel to the doors. To the adjacent walls, one was a plain wall and the other was a giant window with an optional wall that could slide infront of it.

“Nathanael, what brings you here?” Duchamp’s voice broke Marinette’s concentration as she noticed Nathanael had entered the room. His face was slightly flush upon laying eyes on her before turning to Henri Duchamp. His hands clutched tightly to his sketch book. Duchamp and Nathanael had many a conversation about the girl in the room and he always encouraged the young artist to put himself out there.

“Um, salut, Marinette, Monsieur Duchamp. I came to see if I could have some help with the dance from class today…” He said softly, just loud enough for the two other people to hear. “I was having trouble with the steps and Chloé isn’t really the best partner for waltzing and I really wanted to have everything down before the winter ball in a few weeks.…”

Duchamp opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by the laughter and snort that came from Marinette.

“I’m sorry.” She said between laughs. “I can’t imagine that she’d be a good partner.”

Henri Duchamp was an observant man who knew when to take an opportunity.

“Let’s practice then. Marinette, why don’t you join Nathanael and I’ll walk you through the steps.” He saw Marinette with her blue eyes widened slightly. 

“Oh monsieur, I couldn’t possibly.” She laughed nervously. “I haven’t practiced in awhile and I'm much better with tango than I am the waltz and-”

“Nonsense. You got better in the last few years. You’ll do fine.” Nathanael looked expectantly at the girl of his dreams. His palms felt sweat and his heart felt light at the thought of getting to be so close to her. He had grown so much in the last two years and he desperately wanted Marinette to see him not just as the boy in his class but as an option. He dearly missed the confidence that he felt as the Illustrator and had even gone forward with mimicking his demonized hair style.

“Sure.” Marinette gave a smile.

Duchamp opened up his laptop that was on his desk and went to his Spotify. And began to play a Russian waltz. Nathanael approached Marinette, whose back was still against the wall. He extended his hand out for her to take. She placed her hand in his as he led her out to the middle of the room. One hand she placed on his shoulder, the other was in his hand. He held her hand gently while placing his other hand on her lower back.

“This is Dmitri Shostakovich, The Second Waltz, a personal favorite of mine. It’s a dance my wife and I danced to at our wedding.” He smiled nostalgically. “Art is about passion, as you two know very well. We had an old friend from back in the day. Amazing poet names Roman Paine. He once said, ‘The ‘Muse’ is not an artistic mystery, but a mathematical equation. The gifts are those ideas you think of as you drift to sleep. The giver is that one you think of when you first awake.’ Be passionate about your endeavors, children.” He glanced at the two before shifting in his seat. “To start off, Nathanael, I want you to show me what you know as of now and we’ll work from there.”

Nathanael took a deep breath before falling into step with the music. Nathanael couldn’t bring himself to look at the girl with blue eyes and instead focused on the ground instead. 

Despite that, having never been so close to him, Marinette couldn’t help but notice how green his eyes were.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Adrien Agreste was coming out of his fencing class. He searched his locker to find he had forgotten his textbook in class. Upon going up the stairs to where he thought he might find it, he felt mesmerized by the classical music coming from the dance room.

And then he looked through the window and he felt a pang of something he wasn’t quite sure of. He had felt it every time he saw Nathanael look at Marinette. He felt it a few other times when he heard about boys from both school and different schools ask Marinette out. He felt it whenever he heard about fans talking about trying to ask her on dates or get her attention. As he looked through the window and saw the two hand in hand, it finally occurred to him what he was feeling.

He’d call it jealousy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think? :) Also feel free to leave suggestions down below or at my tumblr (wyattnwaffles). I have a few ideas on where I'm taking this but help is more than welcome!


	4. Nostalgia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette realized she's seen Adrien from somewhere before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty much just fluff, and so will the next chapter. But I promise we'll get to some good stuff soon! Also I saw the Pantomime episode and while my head canon is entirely different I will be continuing with the idea I had in mind. :) Btw, am I the only one who thought the Mime was terrifying? They couldn't see the weapons, he was silent, and he shot Ladybug with a rocket launcher. Holy. Crap.

“Oh monsieur, I couldn’t possibly.” Marinette laughed nervously. “I haven’t practiced in awhile and I'm much better with tango than I am the waltz and-”

“Nonsense. You got better in the last few years. You’ll do fine.” Nathanael looked expectantly at the girl of his dreams. His palms felt sweaty and his heart felt light at the thought of getting to be so close to her. He had grown so much in the last two years and he desperately wanted Marinette to see him not just as the boy in her class but as an option. He dearly missed the confidence that he felt as the Illustrator and had even gone forward with mimicking his demonized hair style.

“Sure.” Marinette gave a smile.

“This is Dmitri Shostakovich, The Second Waltz, a personal favorite of mine. It’s a dance my wife and I danced to at our wedding.” He smiled nostalgically. “Art is about passion, as you two know very well. We had an old friend from back in the day. Amazing poet named Roman Paine. He once said, ‘The ‘Muse’ is not an artistic mystery, but a mathematical equation. The gifts are those ideas you think of as you drift to sleep. The giver is that one you think of when you first awake.’ Be passionate about your endeavors, children.” He glanced at the two before shifting in his seat. “To start off, Nathanael, I want you to show me what you know as of now and we’ll work from there.”

Adrien stood by the window of the door, he could see them but he made sure he couldn’t be seen. The door was slightly cracked and he could hear what the teacher had just said to them.

“So she was talking about Nathanael…” He mumbled to himself, putting his back to the door. 

“This isn’t creepy at all, Adrien. Staring at the girl you’re pining for through a hole in the door.” Plagg remarked snarkily as he popped out of Adrien’s inner shirt pocket. “What will you do if her heart is taken before you can retrieve it back?”

His heart felt heavy as he looked back at the scene. 

Nathanael began going to the pace and Marinette followed. Duchamp, as he watched the two move about the room, noted that the boy wasn’t as bad as he made it off to be. He was off by a few beats and got nervous to the point of being stiff. Marinette felt the sweaty palms of the boy and how he had stiffened.

“Nathanael, you’re doing fine.” She whispered up to him. Nathanael’s head shot up and his face reddened as the whisper. He had never been so close to her as he had then. “Take a deep breath, and relax. It’s just me and Duchamp here.” Nathanael was curious if the beautiful girl in front of him could hear how fast his hear was beating.

She couldn’t, of course.

“I’m sorry.” He smiled shyly. She shifted a little closer as the music began to swell. She smiled reassuringly, hoping to make the kind boy in front of her a little more comfortable. She felt herself leading so they could keep up with the pace. For the first time during their dance, he looked up and held eye contact with the girl who made his heart stop consistently. 

He felt himself smiling wide as she gave him a wide grin in return. She forgot how much she loved dancing. Dancing again under Duchamp’s instruction made her feel bittersweet inside. It made her miss Renee. The way she floated across the room with ease and told a story through movement. The reassuring tone in her voice whenever she fell or tripped made her want to continue forward. She hadn’t danced the way she was then since she was about nine or ten, helping with classes that Renee taught at her home studio. She’d help make suits and dresses for those wanting to compete and she’d stand in as a partner if someone weren’t there that day.

“See? This can be fun.” She whispered to him. His green eyes flickered with excitement, an action she had found all too familiar.

Adrien yearned to be the one she was whispering to. 

“You’ll have to make her fall in love with you again.” Plagg responded when the boy wouldn’t take his eyes off of the duo dancing. He placed himself back into his pocket. Adrien, who was deep in thought, didn’t realize that he now had company. 

“Adrien, what are you doing here?” he whispered.

Henri Duchamp stood outside door as the two inside continued to dance. Adrien felt a light red tint his face. 

“I- eh. Hmmm I was just watching and I didn’t want to interrupt. I’ve done a lot of ballroom dance and other things so it’s always fun to watch.” Adrien laughed nervously.

Henri Duchamp was an observant man and knew when to tease his students whom he had known for many years. He felt now was the perfect time. It had taken Marinette Dupain-Cheng one year to see her crush on the boy in front of him fall apart, as she told him once during a delivery from her parents. It had taken two years for Adrien Agreste to fall for the girl, while it took only a few months for Nathanael to fall for her.

The only question that remained was where Marinette's heart was.

“Follow me, I think you might be of help to me.” He smiled. Adrien felt his heart speed up as he reluctantly followed him into the classroom. Nathanael and Marinette had come to a comfortable movement but it was already the end of the song and Nathanael had desperately wanted to continue. He’d learn every dance if it meant he could do them with her.

Adrien gave an awkward wave as he followed the instructor in. Marinette gave a small smile back. Nathanael gave a perplexed frown. The song dwindled to it's end and Nathanael couldn't bear to let go of her hand.

“Well done. To the both of you. Nathanael, I noted that a few times that you were stiff and off rhythm. I also noted a few times that Marinette was leading.” His gaze shifted to her as she gave an abashed smile. She mouthed “sorry” to Duchamp before he continued. 

“I found Adrien in the hall outside and I feel like if you watched the two of them dance you’d see the differences I mentioned.” Nathanael’s stomach churned at the thought of having to let her go to Adrien of all people. Marinette hesitated before walking up to Adrien and taking his hand.

Adrien Agreste had to fight the urge to pull her hand up to his lips and kiss it softly.

“Marinette, don’t be so stiff! It’s not the first time you two have danced.” Duchamp smiled as he walked over to the computer. Marinette’s eyes widened in confusion as she turned her head to give the man a perplexed look. Adrien began to lead her out to the middle of the room. She gave him her attention and took the same movements she had with Nathanael.

“What does he mean…” She mumbled as she found her hand interlacing with his, an action that felt instinctive in his presence yet went entirely unnoticed by her. Adrien, on the other hand, had become hyper aware of both his and her every movement. He was still notably taller than her and found himself peering down and a pair of familiar blue eyes.

How could I have not seen it? He thought to himself.

“I’ll even play the same song. Renee used to love this song. She thought it was a fun one to use when teaching the little ones.” He glanced over at the two before continuing. “You two aren’t so little anymore but still, nostalgia is a wonderful road to peer down every now and again.” He clicked the play button and a familiar tune began sounding through the speakers. A piano began to play and Marinette felt a smile creep onto her face.

“I remember this song.”

“It’s sounds familiar. What’s the song?” Adrien gave her a quizzical look as they began to sway from side to side.

“It’s the theme to Howl’s Moving Castle. Renee loved playing it.” She grinned. She glanced up at Adrien only to find a look of recognition in his eyes very similar to the one she was sure she had held a few moments earlier. The next few words out of Adrien’s mouth brought Marinette back to when she was around 9. She had to be pulled in to partner up with a boy whose partner was out sick. She was the daughter of a political figure who was aspiring to be major. Marinette was surprised the little blonde girl could even get sick; she seemed to have so much energy.

“And we’ve danced to this before.” He said softly enough to send a chill down her spine.

Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain Cheng had met once before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked it! Next chapter will be 1/3 flashback and 2/3 content fluff.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a bit more already written so depending on stuff I'll update tonight or tomorrow! Let me know what you thought here or on my tumblr http://wyattnwaffles.tumblr.com/


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